The Ghost of Athens
by asiansauce
Summary: The fourth and forgotten sister of the Fates is forced to take refuge from her sisters. If she interacts with any mortals, her sisters will find her and kill her, but interacting with these mortals is the only way she can save her own life.
1. The Visitor

CHAPTER ONE

_The Visitors_

* * *

I scream myself awake from my nightmare. It's been so long since I had one. A nightmare that comes long overdue means only one thing. My body realizes it before I do and sends a shiver down my spine. Today is going to be life changing.

My life story starts like this. My name is Anastasia. I am the daughter of Zeus and Themis (Titan of divine order and law). My elder sisters ended up being the three Fates. They were not spinning their thread when I was born, so naturally, I am among the few people who are not under the influence of the Fates.

Anyways, you are likely aware as to how powerful my sisters are. But I wasn't born nearly as powerful. I am not even a goddess. However, I _am_ immortal. Ever since my sisters became the Fates, I have had to live in their shadow. Eventually, I just left my family's kingdom out of shame. The only real power I have is the gift of prophecy. Kind of like the Oracle. By looking into a mortal's eyes, I can see little bits of their past and future. Out of pity, my mother gave the gift, to help me help others. For the most part, the gift just gives me nightmares about people I don't know doing things I don't understand.

Ever since I left, I've just been wandering over the world. I don't know how I ended up here in Athens. Perhaps it was because I wanted to see Olympus. When Olympus shifted to the west, as did civilization, I followed it. However, the customs of the West were too much for me and I came back to my traditional Greek home. I stopped adapting to most new social taboos. Part of me is still a thousand years old.

After five minutes of staring at the ceiling and stretching my limbs, I get up and take a shower. I stand in under the hot water and sing, as usual, but stop near the bridge. Then I remember I am the only one living in this mansion, and there is no one there to hear me sing.

When I finish showering, I dry myself off and look in the mirror. I don't see an old, wise, beautiful, women. I just see me. A woman that's thousands of years old, in a body that's only eighteen. Yes, I am sometimes rash and bold, but I refuse to call myself a teenager. I am wise, and beautiful. I am a woman; but considering the fact that I am thousands of years old, I still act like a child.

Looking at my naked body in the mirror, I think back to the worst day of my life—my eighteenth birthday. Imagine looking in the mirror, and being told, "That's what you're going to look like for the rest of your life." I get that feeling every day.

I stare at my reflection for a whole minute and leave.

It takes 10 minutes for me to brush and curl my long brown hair. I part all of it to my right side and get dressed. Dressed for sitting in my living room and watching TV. I get a drink and sit down on my recliner, and before I get the chance to turn on the TV, a noise coming from outside stops me.

I look through my front window and there's a group of kids outside my house, taking pictures of it. Tourists. They're from America.

After about a minute, the group walks away and turns a corner, and I assume they're staying in the hotel down the street. The class is lead by a centaur, and I know that it's a group of demigods. Something pulls me to these people. I don't know what, but I put on a brown robe, with texture like a potato sack, over my clothes, and I leave my house to follow them.

I maintain a safe thirty feet from the group, and one boy stands out to me. He stops at a kiosk to buy something, when his dollar bill is caught by the wind. He runs in my direction to chase it. As he runs towards me I see his group turn a corner, and walk out of sight. I catch the bill in the air, and the boy runs up to me and takes it.

"Thanks," he says, panting.

I tilt my head to the side, and knit my eyebrows. The boy is familiar.

He turns around and curses under his breath. "Do you know how I can get to the Plaka Hotel? I think im lost." He says.

I'm silent, still trying to figure out who this boy is.

"Never mind," he says, turning around. "Thanks anyways."

"Wait," I say.

He turns around and looks at me.

I put my index finger and middle finger on his forehead, and tilt his head back. First comes the jaw drop. Then his pupils roll up and his eyes become a uniform shade of white. Reality bends, and the dimensions twist around. My vision begins.

I see a boy with a golden sword. He's defeating the Minotaur, Medusa, and holding Zeus' Master Bolt. Now he's conquering the island of Polyphemus and retrieving the Golden Fleece. Here, he's battling the titan Atlas and rescuing Artemis, travelling through the Labyrinth, and defeating the titan Kronos and his army. The scene shifts and now he's in a large chamber, standing with three others, before an altar with a treasure chest upon it. One of his friends is holding a body that looks dead, or at least unconscious.

I come back to reality and gasp for air. One thing stands out to me. I didn't get a vision of his future, where he's in his middle to old age, leading to two conclusions. Either my flawless vision is flawed, or this boy never lives to reach his middle ages.

He looks at me as if I had randomly just stripped naked.

I connect his accomplishments and his face to a name, and I realize why today is important. "You…you're Perseus Jackson." I say.

He looks scared of me. "H-how do you know me?"

"I saw you in my nightmares." I say. After saying it, I realize how awkward it sounds.

"Oh, well I'm pleased to meet you too," he says sarcastically.

"I'm Annie."

"I'm-well, you already know my name. But for future reference, call me Percy."

"I can lead you to your destination."

I'm still spaced out when Percy says to me, "So, do you wanna explain what you just did over there?" Percy puts his hand on my forehead as if to imitate me.

I hesitate to tell him and continue to examine him. "I don't know. Sometimes I have random nightmares, I guess you just looked kind of familiar."

"Still doesn't explain how you knew my name." He says under his breath.

"It's…complicated." I say, observing his clothes and mannerisms.

After ten seconds of silence, he replies. "I have time."

I finish telling him everything, and we arrive at the hotel.

"You've been silent this whole time." I say.

Percy's at a loss for words when a blonde-haired girl runs out the doors of the hotel.

"There you are!" She says, and runs into Percy's arms.

"This is Annabeth," Percy says. "Annabeth, meet Annie."

"I can introduce myself, Percy." she says. "I'm Annabeth. It's nice to meet you."

I put my fingers on Annabeth's head and the vision starts.

Annabeth's in all the feats Percy was part of. Even the last one. But after that, nothing. No scene of Annabeth doing anything significant in the future. No scene of her in her middle-age, either. I guess she shares the same fate as Percy.

I come back to reality and Annabeth gives me the same look that Percy did.

"The pleasure is all mine." I say.

"She did it to you too, huh." he says.

"What just happened?" Annabeth asks.

Percy explains everything while I stare at Annabeth. I start to doubt whether or not they're trustworthy. Then I remember that I'll outlive them anyways. It makes me sad beyond words, not being able to get close to anyone.

"So you just saw my future? What was I doing? Designing a building?" Annabeth asks.

I don't have the heart to tell her about how I didn't see a future for her or Percy. "Well, I saw you guys did some noble stuff, like obtain the Master Bolt from Zeus, obtain the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus, rescue Artemis, conquer the labyrinth, defeat the titan Kronos, and finding a treasure chest."

"Treasure chest?" Percy asks, looking at Annabeth.

"That never happened." Annabeth says.

My eyes widen and my heart sinks. The treasure chest. The dead body. It wasn't a flashback from the past, but a piece from their future.

Before I have the time to open my mouth, the reality bends before me again. It's not a vision. I look down at my hands and they're turning to black dust. I'm being sucked back, into a nearby forest. It's like I'm turning into dust and a giant vacuum is sucking me from behind. As I fly backwards, a wall of fire falls on the streets, burning almost everything in its way, and blocking any passage into the forest. And just like that, their field trip is ruined and my new friends are gone.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys this is my first fanfic (in a long, _long _time) and if you read this whole chapter what i really just want to know is whether or not you are interested in reading it because i want to know if finishing this story is worth it, or if i'm just wasting my time.


	2. No Place For Refuge

CHAPTER TWO

_No Place For Refuge_

* * *

I wake up on my knees, and I am completely unaware of everything around me. My vision is blurry, and the inside of my mouth tastes like blood. I squint and see I am in a forest, and my hands are chained to the two trees beside me. I'm unable to move. I can make out three women dressed in green, red, and blue robes. The robes have long sleeves that flare at the hands, and touch the ground. The foot of the dress drags around behind it, like a wedding dress.

_"She's awake!"_ One of them whispers.

I force myself out of the chains but nothing works. "Who are you? And where am I!" I shout.

The women walk towards me and my stomach drops when I make out their faces. It's the three Fates.

"Hello sister," says the one in red, Atropos. She looks down on me with her striking grey eyes and smirks.

Impulsively, I stand up and put all my force into breaking free. I grunt and shout but all I'm doing is embarrassing myself.

"What do you want?" I say grumpily.

Clotho, dressed in blue, steps forward. "For eras we have let you live amongst the mortals. You have helped many heroes."

"But you may not interfere with the lives of the demigods you have just met." says Lachesis, the third sister, dressed in green.

"We have willed these heroes to perform many feats, and meet many new people. Your interference would throw everything off balance."

I look down on the ground and try to absorb what I've just heard.

"If you can't follow these rules, we will be forced to return," says Atropos.

I catch my breath and gaze at Atropos.

"And just to make sure you won't go back there and try to 'warn' or 'say goodbye' to the mortals, we'll just erase today's memory." She says. "Just close your eyes and count to ten."

My sisters hold out their hands and release a transparent beam of golden light from their palms, directed towards me.

"One, two three," says Atropos.

I toy with the chains looking for a way out. I refuse to have my sisters erase my memory again.

I realize the chain on my right arm is slightly loose. Loose enough for me to reach the invisible blades on my back.

"Eight, nine,"

I pull out the invisible sword and suddenly it becomes visible. A big, yellow blade shines with golden light. It's as long as my forearm and as thick as my hand, from my thumb to my pinkie finger. It has teeth on the sides, and curves as the end. It basically looks like a huge yellow chili. I use it to slash the chains off both arms. With my free arm, I grab the blade's twin from my back.

Right when I pull it out my sisters stop counting.

I throw my right blade at Atropos and she dodges it, sending it straight into a tree. The magic blade dissolves and comes back to its place on my back. I reach for it again. At this point, I don't know what I'm doing. Driven by rage and anger, I run towards Atropos like a bull, and I drive the blade right through her, sticking her to a tree, like a thumbtack. I use my other blade and thrash at Clotho and Lachesis. I use the butt of the blade to hit both of my sisters. I turn around to see Atropos trying to pull the blade out of her body. She's a goddess, so killing her won't be easy, but the blade is stuck in the tree.

"Stop sister! You know we cannot be killed," says Clotho.

I pin Clotho to a tree, and Lachesis runs at me. I run into the forest, and look behind me, seeing all my sisters have gotten out of their bindings, and are now chasing me. It's been so long since I have battled, and my skills are rusty, but I run anyways, because I know that if they catch me, they will surely kill me.

I make a quick turn and remember the blades are on my back again. I stab the blades into a tree and use them to climb. My weight is very heavy for me to lift up, so I stop climbing and perch myself onto a branch.

I know my sisters lack the skills to climb, run, hunt, or fight. They stand at the bottom of the tree looking up at me.

"You can run for now," says Atropos. "But we will surely find you."

"You're not in charge of my thread of life. You cannot find me," I say.

Clotho picks the leaves out of her hair intensively. "As long as you continue to interfere with mortals, we will see where the anomalies in the threads are. Every time you talk to one of them, a thread in our chamber will shake, and we will know where to find you." By the tone of her voice, I know she's had enough of me.

"And when we find you, we will kill you." Lachesis says. "We've had enough of your mischief, Anastasia."

"So, sister, you have two choices. Stay out of the lives of mortals and stay undetected forever, or you talk to one and have us find and exterminate you. Either way, you will be out of our lives." Atropos says.

"Don't think of this as an act of vengeance or anger, Anastasia. You need to be gone in order for the world to see balance. Please, understand." Lachesis says, trying to hold in her rage.

"The world needs mystery, and unexpectedness." I say without thinking, just to defend my honour.

"The world needs order!" Atropos exclaims. "You, the daughter of the Titan of order and divine law, should know that above all people."

Before I can say anything else, my sisters disappear in a cloud of dust matching their gowns. I'm glad because I couldn't think of anything to say.

I jump down the tree and brush myself off. As I walk out the forest, I over-think all the things I could have said to my sisters, but it has always been hard for me to come up with the right thing to say, and on the spot.

As I put my blades back behind me, an epiphany comes to me. I was pulled away from the streets as they were burning down in flames.

I run as fast as I can to the entrance of the forest. When I see an orange light, I sprint.

My robe gets caught on a tree branch, so I take it off and sprint in my white toga, lifting up the bottom half to keep myself from tripping on it.

I'm close to the entrance when I see the forest is on fire, too. A burning tree blocks my path and I struggle to find a way out. In the distance, I see a person's silhouette getting bigger and bigger. It's Percy. I walk backwards, away from the burning log and Percy comes holding a hose. He sets in on the log and turns it on, so that the water shoots upwards. He uses the water and bends it to his will, to encompass burning trees and logs. After a while, the water from the hose turns into an extremely long stream of water that's floating in the air around Percy. Once everything is doused, I turn of the hose, and Percy lets all the water fall on the ground and out of his control.

Percy runs up to hug me and check me for scars. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say. I remember what the Fates told me and I push him away. "You have to leave. It's not safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind, it is _I_ that has to leave. We can never meet again, Percy."

"But there's so much I wanted to ask you!"

"It's not safe, Percy. Please, trust me."

Before Percy can say another word, I run home.

The streets look like the fire never touched them. I realize I don't have time to ask questions so I run home without asking any.

When I arrive home, I remember my house keys were in the robe I left behind in the forest. I turn around to go back to the forest but then I realize I won't be able to live safely here in Athens anymore. I sit on my porch steps and bump my head against the bricks. I must live a life of refuge, and cease all communication with mortals, because I will never surrender myself to the Fates.

Suddenly, Percy and Annabeth run around the corner.

"What happened?" Annabeth asks.

I cannot show any emotion to these people. I mustn't change their lives any more.

"Wait here," I say.

I get up and break the window to my house. I run in and frantically search for a pen and paper. I'm knocking down pans and breaking glasses but I don't care because my life is already ruined.

When I find a pen and paper, I start writing.

_To whom it may concern,_

_ For my entire life,, I have lived alongside the mortals, and outside the looking glass of the Fates. My sisters have decided it is time for me to stop interfering with mortal lives and are now hunting me down. The only way they can find me is through a mortal that they control. Please, for my own safety, and for yours, do not search for me. I beg of you, please continue living your life as if you had never met me. Live the life you were destined to live._

_Anastasia_

I wipe off my tears, take the note outside, and hand it to Annabeth. Before she can start reading it, I take off, running to I-don't-know-where.

I run until my heart wears out. I raise my hand to hail a taxi but remember I'm not allowed. I walk until I reach another entrance into the forest, and then I make a bed of leaves to sleep on. The sun is only just setting but I decide to sleep anyways. I toss and turn until I'm comfortable. I lie on my side and I refuse to start planning ahead, and think about what I'll do tomorrow. My life is ruined.

I mourn on myself until I fall asleep. Then the nightmare begins.

I'm in a throne room. This time it's a lucid dream, where I can control myself and do whatever I want. For some reason, I'm sure I'm dreaming. In front of me are four people. Annabeth, Percy, and two others I don't know. It's a tanned-boy with spiky brown hair, and a pale-white girl with bright red hair. They're turned around and are standing before an altar, with a giant treasure chest on it. I realize this must be a dream of the future, like all my others.

I walk up to the altar and put my hands on the box.

"Annie, do it! What are you waiting for?" The boy asks.

I stare at them trying to find out what we're all doing. Before I can turn around to face the box, an army of warriors flood in through every entrance, holding bows and shields.

A fat guy that looks like a Viking stands in front of the army and distinguished himself to be the leader.

"Fire!" He exclaims.

The arrows shoot towards me, and only me. Right before an arrow pierces my skin, I wake up screaming.


	3. Fiona's Bow

CHAPTER THREE

_Fiona's Bow_

* * *

I cover my mouth with my hand and look around to see if anyone saw me. The sun has yet to rise but I get up and brush the leaves off my outfit. I walk until I reach the edge of the forest. I stop because I'm not on the streets from which I entered. I'm on a cliff that's fenced off. It's only about forty feet from the ground, and at the bottom is a highway. I turn around to go find a way back to the streets when puddles of black dust appear from the ground. Five black holes pop out from the ground and from them, five skeletal warriors rise from the puddles, armed with nothing but Trojan helmets with mohawks and swords. Not even skin protects them.

"Who sent you?" I yell.

"The Fates took us from the Underworld and promised us that if we find you, we can get a second chance at life." One says, looking at me as if I'm a T-bone steak in a famine.

"So we will be bringing your head back down with us, no matter what it takes." Another says.

I wipe the scared look off my face, put on a smirk, and pull out my blades.

The warriors charge at me all at once. I slice all five of them right through the middle with one slash, but the bones just form again.

"You can't kill what's already dead, foolish girl!" One says, laughing.

I rip his head off and throw it into the streets below me, and onto the highway.

The warriors all grab onto a part of my body and I grab onto the wire-fence.

"Whatever it takes!" They say feebly.

The skeletal warriors summon a puddle of black dust under them and suddenly they're sinking, and going back through their portal to the Underworld.

"We will bring you down with us, if it takes a trillion deaths!" They say.

When the warriors are low enough for me to kick their heads, I thrash around trying to escape their hold, clinging on to the fence for dear life. I moan in agony because it feels like my arms are going to pop off. Before they do, I step on the last hand emerging from the earth, and the last black hole contracts and disappears. I sit down to catch my breath. The ground starts to stir again and I run away because I know that the next flood of enemies will be much more powerful than the last.

I turn around and am underwhelmed when I see just one dog chasing after me. The dog jumps onto a branch, from tree to tree. It's movements so nimble and graceful, yet it's so fast and swift. When I recognize who it is, I sprint. It's Laelaps, the dog who always catches its prey. It's been used to chase down the most elusive of enemies, and now it's back from the Underworld, sent to chase me.

"Brilliant," I whisper to myself.

As I run, I try to think of how the story ended. Laelaps, the dog that always caught its target, was sent to hunt down the Teumessian Fox, the fox that could never be caught. Faced with this paradox, Zeus saw no other solution other than to turn both of them to stone.

I start sprinting to avoid this dog, but it seems like it knows all my moves. I have no doubt the dog can out-run me. For some reason, the Fates must want me alive. I make a quick turn when I arrive at the streets, and turn around for a millisecond to throw my blade at the dog. The blade injures the dog, giving me a chance to run. I keep running, and then I see the Plaka Hotel. A group of kids holding backpacks and luggage are boarding a double-decker bus in front of it. Those are the demigods from yesterday.

"Percy!" I scream.

I jump onto the back of the bus, and hang on from the railing. Right before it starts moving, and climb to the top.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" asks Percy. "I thought we weren't allowed to talk to you!"

I climb into a seat and turn around. The dog is chasing the bus.

"Give me a phone, or anything else I can use to communicate." I say, occupied with something else.

"Here," Annabeth says, secretly handing me her cellphone.

I text numbers with area codes from all over the world.

"As long as I'm in communication with people from different areas at the same time, the Fates won't know where to look." I say, returning Annabeth's phone.

"What happened?" She asks.

"I'm so sorry," I say. "You're right. I should not be here, but the Fates decided against waiting me out. They are sending the most vicious beasts after me. Laelaps is chasing me as we speak."

Annabeth and Percy are silent, and I assume it's to think about the story of Laelaps. Annabeth's eyes widen and before she can open her mouth, the dog jumps up onto the bus and right in front of me.

The few people that are on the top deck of the bus scream and I freeze. Laelaps jumps onto me and I try to fight him. He snarls, inches from my face, and before he can take a bite of my flesh, he's swept away, by something flying. I look to the side and a huge bird has him in its talons.

"It's an eagle," says Annabeth.

After a moment of silence, Percy is the first to speak up. "Why did you come back here? I thought you were just going to run."

"I was, but last night, I had a dream. The two of you, two others, and I were on a quest. We were in a throne room and we had just found a treasure when an army of warriors flooded in and attacked. Throughout my entire life, I've had visions of heroes, but never have I had a vision of which I was a part."

"Well after yesterday's fire, Chiron decided we won't be taking many more field trips. We've ended our trip early, and are heading back home to America." Annabeth says. "So I don't think we can participate in your quest."

"I still don't know the purpose and the goal of the quest, and until I find that information, I'm not going either, but in an effort to stay safe from my sisters, I _am_ coming to America with you."

"But you don't have any money!" Percy says.

"I've lived long enough to collect a large sum of money. Hopefully, that money is still in my hands." I say.

"Well why don't you just continue to communicate with people from all over the world to stay under detection?" Annabeth asks.

"I can't hide for all of eternity. I need a game plan, but all I have right now is 'get away from here'," I say.

I pause when I realize there's a group of confused demigods that just saw me get attacked by a dog that just got picked up by an eagle.

"Who are you?" One boy asks.

Annabeth replies, "she's Annie, the-"

I stop Annabeth before she can say one more word. "Who am I? How dare you! I am Annie, I've been a camper at Camp-Half Blood for 10 years. Just lately I've started to make friends. For so long, I've been too afraid to talk to anyone, and now you've broken me spirit by telling me you don't even know who I am." I bury my head in Annabeth's lap and pretend to cry, but Annabeth's attempt to holding in a laugh makes it hard for me.

From the corner of my eye, I can see the campers moving to the bottom deck of the bus, and when the last one descends, I get up.

"Good job," says Percy.

I wipe my eyes of my fake tears and collect myself. "Most people would get hostile if they found out I'm running away from the Fates. The Fates have even been bribing the dead to get them to hunt me down. I can't have any more people fighting against me, which is why no one can find out who I am." I say.

XXX

After a half-hour long bus ride, we arrive at the airport. I hop out the back of the bus and make my way through the airport inconspicuously.

"See you at the gate!" I say to Percy and Annabeth, as I walk to my gate.

After an hour of waiting, we finally begin boarding the plane. After Percy and his class board, I walk up to the doors when a police officer stops me. "I'm sorry ma'am, you cannot board."

"What? Why?" I reply.

"We have deemed you as a suspicious passenger, please follow me to the inspection room," she says.

"That's crazy! Why not just inspect me while I was sitting down waiting for an hour? I'm not missing my flight!" I yell, accidentally attracting attention.

I expect the guard to take me by force but she pulls out a gun. I roll to the side before she can pull the trigger.

"You were going to kill me!" I shout. "I have done nothing wrong!"

The guard says nothing and continues to shoot bullets that I continue to dodge. I look around and see no one doing anything. They're not even looking up. It must be the Mist obscuring them, meaning this woman is a monster.

I pull out my blades and slash at her, but she jumps back and wings come out of her back, ripping off all her clothes. Where I expect to see her privates, I see just skin. Her skin tone turns into a dark purple, and contracts, showing her ribcage. Two other bat-looking women fly to me, giving me two more enemies.

"You're the Furies," I say, brushing my bands to the side, preparing for a fight.

"In the flesh!" They say, with an old, broken voice.

I slash at them, but they're too agile. I can't hit them with a blade. They attack with quick swipes from the air.

"Percy!" I yell.

"Nobody's coming to help you!" They say.

Suddenly, a Fury falls out of mid-air and bursts in a cloud of golden dust. The two others stop and land to look around, looking for the one who killed their sister. I take the chance to drive a blade into one of them, turning them into dust. The third is taken down, and this time, I see it's by an arrow. I get up and collect myself. I turn around and see a skinny, red-headed girl holding a bow and arrow. She's standing beside a tall, muscular guy with spiky hair. The girl lowers her weapon and gives it to the boy, who puts it in his bag.

"Was that you who shot down the Furies? Thank you," I say, walking up to her.

"You're welcome." She says, looking straight through me. I get a close look at her and see her eyes don't have pupils. They are just white. She's blind.

"My name is Fiona Swanson. This is my brother Fillip," she says.

"I'm Annie," I say.

I put my hands on Fiona's forehead and the vision begins. She's only a child of around five years old in this scene. She has dirty brown hair like her brother. She's walking around and running into walls, while her brother of around seven years old is running around with a blanket tied to his neck. He's waving a toilet paper roll around like a sword. The scene changes and now she's in a classroom with other handicapped kids. She looks about ten years old in this scene. She walks around the classroom and makes a clicking sound with her tongue. She navigates around the room as if she had perfect vision. At the front of the room, two adults are talking.

"She's not handicapped at all! Look at her navigate the room!" Says one lady. I'm assuming it's Fiona's mother.

"It's the law! I don't care if she has a sixth sense that let's her see. She needs to be in this school." The teacher says.

The scene changes and now Fiona looks fourteen. She's in her bathroom with her mother and her mother's dying Fiona's hair bright red.

"You look so beautiful. If only your father could see you." Her mother says, smiling at Fiona's new hair.

Now Fiona's a teenager. She's standing in a big room with four other people, and where I expect to see an altar with a chest, I see a panel of twelve thrones. Each one is empty, except for the one in the middle. Before I can make out the face, the vision fades.

When I come back to reality, Fillip shouts, "What did you do to my sister?"

Before he can hit me, I put my fingers on his forehead.

He's looks about seven in this scene. He's looking at himself in the mirror, wearing the cape and holding the sword I saw before. He takes off the cape and drops the sword and sits on his bed, sighing. He picks up a picture frame on his drawer. From the black and white, I can tell it's an old picture. Before I can distinguish the face in the picture, the scene shifts and now he's around twelve. He's in school and he's getting yelled at by his teacher. The teacher is at his desk and ripping up the work he did. Fillip gets up and shouts back. The teacher points to the door and Fillip runs out in tears. Now Fillip's in his present age, which im guessing is around nineteen. He's holding a real sword now, and putting it down on the ground, and kneeling, but I can't see to whom he's kneeling.

I come back to reality and before Fillip can hit me, I hold his fists and look at him like he's a poor, homeless man.

"I'm so sorry. Please, let me explain." I say.

When I spill my entire case, Fillip apologizes for trying to hit me. I stare at them and ask myself if they're trustworthy. It seems to me like Fillip and Fiona are just two siblings trying to fight the world together, but I don't understand why they wouldn't just live with their parents back at home. Part of me doesn't want to ask.

"You-You're blind, aren't you?" I ask Fiona.

"No, pretending to be blind is just a phase of mine."

"During her pregnancies, our mother did a lot of drugs. It blinded Fiona and it gave me ADHD and dyslexia."

"I never would have guessed," I say sympathetically. "If you _are_ blind, then how did you shoot down the Furies?"

"She has exceptional hearing," says Fillip. "She uses it, and eckolation to get around, and see her surroundings."

"_Echolocation,_" Fiona enunciates.

In amazement, I tilt my head. "Are you taking this flight to America?" I ask.

"Yeah," Fillip says. "It looks like we'll have a lot to talk about."

* * *

A/N: Hey if you've read this chapter and all the previous once do you wanna leave a review so I know I'm not wasting my time? Please, just tell me what you think and how I can improve.


	4. The Challenge of Zeus

CHAPTER FOUR

_The Challenge of Zeus_

After a long plane ride, we finally land in New York. It takes half and hour to get past the traffic in the airport and when I finally walk out the doors, I take in a deep breath of American air.

"Are you coming with us?" Fiona asks me.

"Actually, I don't know where I'm going. Before I met you guys, I was planning on going to Camp Half-Blood with Percy."

When Percy hears his name, he walks over and puts his luggage on the ground.

"Are these your friends, Annie?" He asks.

"I met them back in Athens, just before we boarded the plane." I say.

"I'm Fillip, and this is my sister Fiona." Fillip says, holding out his hand.

Percy shakes their hands. "I'm Percy."

Percy nudges my shoulder and whispers, "are they…demigods?".

"No," Fiona says. "My brother and I are descendants of Hercules."

"Hercules is our great, great, great, great," Fillip says, counting his fingers, "grandfather!"

"Because they're descendants of a Greek hero, the power of the Mist is weak on them." I explain.

"But we're just as capable as you so don't count us out," Fiona says.

"Where are you two headed, anyways?" I ask.

"We're gonna go-"

"Visit our mom in Long Island!" Fiona says, finishing Fillip's sentence.

"Well it was nice meeting you!" Percy says, waving his hand goodbye and turning around.

"I'm…gonna go with Percy," I say, giving the two siblings a hug.

I turn around and start walking with a small feeling of regret. They're not going to go visit their mom. I saw it in my vision. Their mom's in Rehab. Where could they be going?

"Wait…do you want to come with me?" I say, turning around.

Fillip and Fiona turn around, and the looks on their faces tell me _yes_.

XXX

We follow the Camp Half-Blood bus in a taxi, and get off when the taxi reaches the outskirts of town. I pay the driver and he drives away into the horizon.

"We can walk from here," I say.

We walk on a path in a forest and Fiona makes a clicking sound with her tongue that she calls _echolocation._

"So what's waiting for us at this camp everyone keeps talking about?" Fiona asks.

"From what I know, it's a place for young demigods to train." I reply.

Fillip's face lights up, as if I just reminded him of something big. "Really?" He asks. "Well then pick up the pace!"

Fillip runs ahead and drops his bag. Suddenly, a wall of gas appears between two trees and Fillip runs right into it and falls over. The wall is transparent and made of a red gas. It looks like one could just walk through it but Fillip can't pass. From the cloud, three figures walk through.

"It's a portal," I say to myself.

"What's happening?" Fiona says.

"My sisters…they've found me."

"Fillip! Come here!" Fiona says, panicking.

Atropos picks up Fillip by the shirt. "Annie, surrender yourself and your friend will live," she says with blank white eyes.

"Fillip!" Fiona screams, holding on to my arms. "Put my brother down!"

Fiona runs, clicking her tongue in desperation. She stops to pick up her bag. Before Fiona can pull out her bow, I stop her.

"I surrender. Now let him go." I demand.

Without letting go, Atropos points her finger at me. "Clotho."

Clotho walks up to me and holds my hands behind my back. "See how easy it is when you cooperate? No one has to get hurt!"

I walk up to the portal with Clotho holding my arms, like a criminal going to jail. Atropos lets go of Fillip and Fiona runs into his arms.

"And as for the two of you, leave this place now. You may not enter this camp, as it is not your destiny." Clotho says.

When I expect Fiona and Fillip to fight back, the two run off into the forest.

I walk up to the portal with a look of mutiny on my face. "It can't end like this," I whisper.

"Don't be sad, sister. Just think of it like this: once you're gone, the world will see balance and order." Atropos says with a smirk.

Before I enter the portal, in a last minute act of desperation, I fight back, and pull out my blades, but my sisters quickly extinguish it.

I'm a millisecond away from being pushed into the portal when an arrow pierces through Atropos' stomach. She stops and gasps at her injury, and a scream comes from behind. Atropos moves out of the way and I see Fiona drawing another arrow. Fillip runs up with his fist held high, prepared to attack. He punches the Fates with all he's got while Fiona shoots arrows from a distance. I throw Clotho into the portal in the midst of all the chaos. Fillip pushes Lachesis into the portal, and all that's left is Atropos. She's kneeling on the ground, recovering from three more arrows.

"Why do you rebel, sister? We are the good guys! You are standing in the way of justice and we will not rest until you are gone." She says, standing up. "You are doing nothing but prolonging your agony."

I stare her in the face for a heartbeat and then Fillip throws her into the portal. The portal closes and Fillip takes a minute to catch his breath. Fiona runs up to me and she's probably asking if I'm okay but I drown it out and reflect on what Atropos says.

"Am I really standing in the way of justice?" I ask.

"Don't worry; I would have done the same thing, given your situation." Fillip says.

"So would I," says Fiona. "Come on, let's go."

"No, we can't. The Fates will just find me again."

"Maybe we can find some answers at the camp, and make a plan." Fillip says.

I take in a deep breath. "Okay."

XXX

We arrive at the camp at the same time the bus does. The demigods all flock into camp and Fillip stares at the gates in awe.

Fillip runs into the camp like a little kid into a candy store.

"Why is he so excited?" I ask.

"All his forefathers were great men. Leaders, preachers, builders, you name it. Fillip has this dream of fulfilling Hercules's legacy and being a hero just like him. I guess being at this camp is his first opportunity to actually train with real weapons." Fiona says.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood!" Percy says from behind.

"Where will we stay?" I ask.

"You can pass yourselves off as demigods for the next few days and stay in the Hermes cabin." Percy suggests.

"I want to see Olympus." I say. "It's been so long since I last visited."

"Me too!" Fiona says. "Will you take us there?"

"Sure, when do you want to go?" He asks.

"Tomorrow," Fiona says.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Annabeth asks from behind.

"We're going to Olympus," I say.

"Can I come?" Annabeth asks.

"Who is this?" Fiona asks.

"I'm Annabeth." Annabeth says.

"I'm Fiona."

As we walk through camp, I find my plan unravelling. There are too many people here. I'm going to get too attached. I'm going to be found.

XXX

A day passes and already it's time to head for Olympus. Fiona, Fillip and I sneak out of the cabin while everyone's awake and busy. We meet Percy and Annabeth and the camp doors and leave without attracting any attention.

"Are you sure no one will notice we're gone?" I ask.

"I'm sure," says Percy.

Everything goes by so fast, and suddenly I'm on the 600th floor of the Empire State building.

"The Empire State building has 600 floors?" Fillip says, following the group.

"Get with the times, Fillip." Fiona says.

The elevator doors open and even I'm in awe. Olympus has grown since the last time I saw it.

We're in a huge courtyard with trees and fountains. People are walking around wearing togas. Directly in front of us is a long staircase leading up to a huge palace.

"What is that clicking sound you're making?" Percy says.

"It's how I see. Not all of us are blessed with vision." Fiona says.

"You're…blind?" he asks.

"Yes I am, thanks for reminding me," she says with sarcasm.

"Fiona uses little clicks to hear what's around her, just like bats use supersonic waves to see in the dark." Fillip explains.

"That's amazing." Annabeth says.

"I know," Fiona replies.

Before Annabeth can start talking about the buildings, I take the words right out of her mouth. "That's the throne room of the Olympians."

"I don't think that place is open for tours at the moment," says Annabeth.

I drown out Annabeth's words and run towards the palace at light speed when I come up with an idea.

From the distance, I can hear the others shouting my name but I ignore it. I run towards what I'm convinced is my salvation.

I stand at the doors and take a deep breath. I kick open the doors.

"I'm sorry, this place is not open for tours right now," says Athena. "You must go."

Annabeth, Percy, Fiona, and Fillip all rush up behind me.

"We need to go now, Annie." Percy whispers.

"It is you that must go, Athena. I'd like to talk to my father in private." I say.

Athena raises her eyebrows and my friends all nudge me but I ignore it.

"And which one of us is your father?" Hermes asks.

"If I am not your daughter, leave now." I say.

All the gods disappear in a cloud of dust except for one.

"Your father is…Zeus?" Annabeth asks, as if it were unbelievable.

"Anastasia, why have you come?" He asks.

"My sisters seek to kill me." I say.

"And why is that?"

"What do you mean, _why is that_? You birthed a fourth child. I am above the Fates' control and it drives them crazy having me interfere with mortal's lives. All I ask is that you kill me, and rebirth me instead of sending me to the Underworld. Let me live a regular life. As long as I don't have to seek refuge my whole life." I say.

"I can't just hand out second chances like that, Anastasia." Zeus says.

"I'm your daughter." I reply.

"So are the Fates. If the other gods found out I went around the will of the Fates they would punish me for it. If you want me to grant you this wish, you must do something for me."

"And us, too!" Fillip blurts out. "We'll all do you a favour and you grant us all a wish!"

Fiona elbows Fillip in the gut and mumbles.

"Fine then," Zeus says, catching the undivided attention of everyone in the room. "Do this for me and I will grant you all one favour."

"What is it?" I ask.

Zeus puts his hands on his chin and looks up to think. "For many centuries, it has been cast away beyond the reach of any hero, but many still try to obtain it and use it for evil purposes. Some have been very close, but it must be destroyed so that it can never be used for harm. It is among the strongest weapons in the world. So strong that it can kill a god. The gods cannot destroy it, as we were the ones that cast it away. It must be destroyed by a hero."

"What is it?" Fiona asks impatiently.

"Pandora's Box," says Zeus. "Find it and destroy it."


	5. The Prophecy

CHAPTER FIVE

_The Prophecy_

* * *

"Pandora's Box…What's that?" Fillip asks.

"Pandora was created by Hephaestus, out of clay. When Prometheus introduced fire to man, Zeus took vengeance by giving Epithemus, Prometheus' brother, the key to Pandora's Box. Zeus was sure Epithemus or his brother would open the box, but in the end, it was Pandora that opened the box out of curiosity. From the box, many evils escaped, such as envy, hatred, sickness, disease, disasters, you name it," Annabeth explains.

"The box was cast away before any more evils were let out, however we didn't anticipate so many people would try to search for it," Zeus says.

"Why would someone want to obtain Pandora's Box?" Annabeth asks.

"Some do it for historical research, others do it out of evil reasons," Zeus says.

Imagine if the box were opened here in Olympus," I say. "It would single-handedly destroy the empire."

"So where do we find this thing?" Percy asks.

"We hid it in the Lost Desert," Zeus says. "You may know it as the Mojave Desert."

"That's in California," Annabeth says.

"Beware, as many dangers wait. Many of the warriors that seek the box never even reach the temple. It's called the Lost Desert for a reason. Some go crazy in search for it in the sandstorms. You don't have to go, but if you want your wish granted, that's what you have to do." Zeus says, waving his finger and flashing out in a cloud of dust.

"Anything you want…" Fillip says behind me.

Annabeth puts her hand on my shoulder and turns me around. "You're not really thinking about going, are you?"

"I refuse to live in hiding, always running away." I say with a blank face.

"There has to be another way. Maybe another god will help you!" Annabeth says.

"You heard him; all the other gods would take my sisters' side. Zeus only grants me mercy because he's my father." I reply, looking straight into Annabeth's eyes.

"Pandora's Box is out in the middle of nowhere. We stand no chance!" Annabeth says.

I put on a look of hopelessness. "What other choice do I have?" I say, walking away, back to the elevators. I stop to turn around, with one more comment. "You don't have to come. In fact, I ask that you don't."

"No one's gonna keep me from an unconditional wish!" Fiona says, pushing the others out of her way to run up to me. "I'm gonna help you destroy that box, and I'm gonna ask for my vision back. With vision, I'll be unstoppable."

"I'm gonna ask for super-strength!" Fillip exclaims, joining me.

"C'mon Annabeth, think of how honourable it'd be to destroy Pandora's Box! A task even the gods cannot do. You would be a hero to all of Olympus." Percy says to Annabeth.

I turn around to see Annabeth's reaction. "You all really want to do this?" She asks.

We respond with a unanimous nod and she rolls her eyes. "Fine," she says. "But Chiron's going to be real mad at us for leaving like this."

"Not if you come back as heroes," I say.

We stand at the edge of the courtyard beside the elevators, looking down on New York.

"So how are we planning on getting to California?" Annabeth asks, after a minute of silence.

Nobody answers because nobody has one.

"Why not just take a road trip?" Fiona suggests.

"Road trips are too long. We would be too vulnerable. Planes are our best bet," I say emotionless. "I will pay for all of our tickets. I have no use for my money anymore."

"Okay then," Percy says. "When do we leave?"

"Right now," I reply, walking away from the railings and towards the elevators.

XXX

We arrive at the airport and eat lunch as we wait for our plane.

"So what's our plan once we land in California?" Percy asks.

"We take a taxi to the Mojave Desert and look for Pandora's Temple." I say, biting into my burger.

"Just don't expect Pandora's Temple to be easy to spot," Annabeth says. "Zeus said that most of its seekers get lost in the desert."

"But we have Zeus on our side," Percy says.

"Don't forget, we also have the Fates, and they're not on our side," I say.

Before anyone can reply, a message over the intercom says our plane is ready to board, and a large group of people dispersed in the airport all rush to the gate.

"That's our plane," I say, putting my bag over my shoulder and getting up.

We board the plane with no interruptions, and take our seats. "I'm surprised nothing happened to us on the way here," Fiona says.

"The Fates must not know where we're going, because if they knew we were on our way to destroy a covenant historical artefact, they would never leave us alone." I reply, putting on my seatbelt.

The flight attendants say something about safety and emergencies but I tune it out and fall asleep. My nightmare starts the second I close my eyes.

I'm in an open field, lying down and looking up at the sky. People walk by with no emotion on their faces. Most of them just lie there doing nothing. I sit up and look around. A woman dressed like a belly dancer walks up to me. Her scarves and sleeves flow but there's no breeze.

"Who are you?" I ask. "Where am I?"

"I'm the Oracle. You're in the fields of Asphodel."

I sit up and look around. I'm dead. I'm in the fields of Asphodel, where the ordinary mortals stay. They stay here, and lie down, looking at the sky. Forever.

"Why am I here?" I ask.

"This is your destiny," she says. The word _destiny _sends shivers down my spine. "Your only chance of ever living a full life and possibly ending up in Elysium lies in the destruction of Pandora's Box."

"Tell me how to find the box," I say, standing up to meet her eyes.

The Oracle puts her fingers on my forehead and her face lights up. Her eyes turn blank white as she starts to speak.

_Conquer the temple by the power of night_

_Find despair in your life entombed in light_

_The path is shown by the hero's bane_

_Eternity lies in the hero's vain_

_Satisfy your wish by destroying the urn_

_But destroy a friend on the way for they will turn_

When the Oracle says her last word, I black out and wake up, freefalling through the air in a thunderstorm.

I thrash my head around looking for my friends.

"Annie!" Percy says from above me. On his other side is Annabeth, Fiona, and Fillip. He holds out his hand and I reach for it. I reach for Fillip's hand and the five of us make a circle in mid-air.

"Zeus, help us and soften our fall!" I shout at the top of my lungs. "Please father!"

Suddenly, a strong breeze from below hits us and we fall slowly. We land on a cloud of air, and hop off.

I let go of Percy and Fillip's hands and catch my breath.

Looking around, I see we're alone. Dead bodies surround us and the plane that flew us is in a hundred pieces on the ground behind me. The place is deserted and it looks like the ground has never seen rain before today. There's no greenery or roads here, either; only cracked soil. The intense storm suddenly stops and the sun comes out again. "What happened?" I shout, wet and confused.

"A storm broke loose out of nowhere. It hit the plane," says Percy.

"It definitely did not come out of nowhere," Annabeth says, examining the terrain.

"You think the Fates did this?" Fiona asks.

"They must really not want us to reach Pandora's Box, especially if they're willing to spare all these innocent lives," Fillip says.

"We need to find out where we are," says Fiona.

"Why don't we just start walking until we reach a road?" Percy suggests.

It takes me a long time to recover from the shock of falling from a plane and I remember my dream on the plane.

"By the way, the Oracle of Delphi came to me in my dream, and spoke a prophecy."

Everyone in front of me stops. "What?" Percy asks.

"I should have told you earlier, but I just remembered it now," I reply.

"Well what was it?" Fillip asks.

My eyes point to the sky as I try to remember the prophecy. "Conquer the temple by the power of night, and find despair for your life entombed in light. The path is shown by the her's bane, eternity lying in the hero's vain. Satisfy your wish by destroying the urn, but destroy a friend on the way for they will turn."

The group takes a minute to think, and then Fiona breaks the silence. "Well I can only draw two things from that. Two things of which I'm certain. One, that destroying that box is the only way for each of us to see our greatest wish, and two, one of us will betray the rest."

I stare at the ground for a minute and figure out how I should reply, but Percy takes the words out of my mouth. "It doesn't matter. If I learned anything from quests, it's that we can't let prophecies distract us. Everything will come together, we have to maintain focus."

"He's right. Right now, our objective is to find out where we are." I say, walking ahead.

I climb up onto a hill and see it's a cliff. I'm looking down a giant desert, coated by a sandstorm. Everything below me is obscured by blowing sand and I realize where we are.

"The Fates didn't drop us here," I say. "Zeus did. He dropped us in the middle of the Lost Desert."


	6. The Hero's Bane

CHAPTER SIX

The Hero's Bane

* * *

We scale down the cliff looking over the sandstorms and arrive at the bottom. The sandstorms rage so hard that further exploration is without a question, impossible.

"How are we supposed to navigate through this?" Annabeth shouts, over the wind.

"I can lead you," Fiona says, putting on black Ray Ban sunglasses. "You people rely on your eyes for everything. Without vision, you're useless." Fiona clicks her tongue and "looks around".

"Thanks," Percy says sarcastically.

"Other than all the rolling hills, it looks like an open field." Fiona says.

"Well then where should we-"

Fiona waves her hand in Percy's direction, dismissing him. She steps forward and says in a bossy tone, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Fillip asks.

"You're all hopeless. Follow me," she replies, leading us left.

We walk for a few minutes and then I start hearing a high-pitched scream.

"Oh no…" I say, stopping in my tracks.

"What?" Fillip asks.

"Those are sirens. Don't you hear it?" I reply, with my eyes wide.

"We can't go any further, or we'll be entangled in their trap forever." Annabeth says.

"Maybe we should go," I say. "They live here; maybe they can lead us to Pandora's Temple."

"Are you crazy? We can't go there, we'll die!" Annabeth shouts.

"That's the kind of logic used by everyone looking for the box. If we want to pull through, we should think differently." I reply.

"I agree," Fillip says, clenching his fist into his hand, getting ready for battle.

"You really think they can lead us to the temple?" Percy asks.

"If we can mute them out somehow, we can make them lead us to the temple." Fiona says.

"If that doesn't work we'll just kill them." I say, walking ahead.

We walk ahead for a few minutes when the screeching starts to get louder and I see silhouettes in the distance.

"I'm not going any farther," Fiona says. "I'm staying here, where I can hear clearly. I'm not going to risk getting my ears popped out."

Fiona pulls out her bow and loads it with an arrow. "Try not to get in my way."

I pull out my blades and get ready for battle. "

"Whoa, what are those?" Fillip asks.

"My mom gave me these blades. They appear on my back when I reach for them." I say.

"I have the same thing! Kind of. It's with my sword and my pocket." Percy says, pulling out a pen. He clicks the pen and a golden sword springs out.

"No time for show and tell," I say. "Let's get this show on the road."

I walk ahead cautiously with my friends behind me. I begin to see a silhouette in the distance. Two, actually. Adrenaline gushes through my veins as I charge without hesitation. With my blades ready for attack, a strange force pulls me over. I stop mid-run and I can't control myself. A tenth of a second later, I can't think straight. I get a glimpse of a siren the second before I blackout. It's a girl with long black hair and a long gown that blows with the wind. She has big wings like a bird, and she turns around to face me. Her eyes glow a bright and ominous black, and she opens her mouth to unleash a high-pitched tune. It's nothing like I imagined it. It's a beautiful, entrancing melody. I smile at her and fall asleep uncontrollably.

I awake to the sight of all my friends asleep on the ground. Fillip is the only other one that's on his feet. He has his hand over a siren's mouth. The second siren on the ground, dead, I assume. I rush over and punch her in the gut. She jerks backwards and Fillip lets her go.

"Tell us where Pandora's Temple is or I'll rip your throat out!" I shout.

The siren doesn't sing as I expect. Instead, she smirks. Her wings stretch out and only now do I see her in her true form. Her wings have a span of what looks like twenty feet. Before I can reach for my blade, she flies up leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"I will never tell you!" She hisses from above me. "We will never let anyone navigate this desert, you will die here!"

The siren whips her wings and blows sand at us, disappearing in the wind.

Fillip goes off to awake everyone else but I run over to the other siren that's on the ground. I turn her body over to see that there's an arrow in her mouth. Disgusted, I pull it out. She opens her eyes and I reach back for my blade but she doesn't unleash her song. She looks at me, and it's like she's looking at my soul. A tear trickles down her face as she opens her mouth to speak. Her voice is weak, and her song useless. She closes her eyes and her lips shiver, as if she were about to cry.

"I'm the daughter of Zeus. He sent us here to destroy Pandora's Box. Please, if you know where it is, tell us." I say.

"I don't know if you tell the truth, but I don't care. I don't think that you will find the box, but if you do, destroy it. We've been guarding it for millennia. The gods treat us as machines, if you destroy that box I'll finally be free of my imprisonment. You can kill me but I'll only be reborn back here. Destruction is the only way." She whispers, her voice faltering. "I am not a machine."

The siren gets up and takes one last breath. It's a deep one. She opens her mouth and lets out a scream so loud that it blew away sand dunes. With that being her final breath, she falls to the ground and evaporates into golden dust.

"What just happened?" Fiona asks, confused.

"The path was shown by the warrior's bane," I say, staring out into the desert.

"What?" Fiona says.

In front of us is an unbelievable sight. The sandstorms blew everywhere, but somehow, the siren made an invisible tunnel where the sandstorms wouldn't blow. It was like a forcefield that kept the path clear. In that direction, you could see clearly into the distance. I'm able to see the temple. We venture ahead and the wind blows at us from every direction.

Every step I take closer to the temple, the more detailed I see it. The temple is beautiful and seems untouched by the desert winds. It's similar to the castle at Disney World but much taller and much more extravagant. It's gold, brown, white, and made of stone. It's hard to believe that the deadliest weapon in the world is held here. We stop at the front of the temple to admire the view and I take particular notice of a flock of birds in the air, circling the highest tower of the temple.

"Pandora's Temple is so nice, and peaceful for a place where hundreds have died." Percy says, admiring the architecture.

When we take another step closer, one of the birds shoot down the building, and it lands before us, in front of the gate.

"Who dares to trespass Pandora's Temple?" it hisses.

"Oh my gods…" I say, taking a step back.

"What are you?" Fillip asks, drawing his sword, ready for combat.

The monster steps towards him and smirks. "Hahaha! Your swords won't work on me. I have no taste for the strong, only the intelligent are allowed past. Recognize me yet?"

"I recognize you," Annabeth says, putting on a spiteful face. "You're the Sphinx!"

"That's right," she says with a smirk. "And I'm back with a better show! Never again will I allow someone to best me."

The Sphinx roars and flaps her wings, tossing herself up into the air. The sand below us starts to blow around and a field of skeletons becomes visible under the sand. "Are you scared yet?" she asks, laughing maniacally. While the Sphinx is laughing, a flock of vultures fly down and circle us, our backs now against each others.

I take a big swallow. "So much for nice and peaceful."

* * *

A/N: You don't need to tell me, I know. I haven't updated for a few months because I've been pushing it back. I haven't had much inspiration to write. I mean, I know what i want to write but i have to motivation to dedicate the time. I guess I'm just lazy. Sorry! More to come soon. This time, you won't have to wait months. Hopefully.


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